Sega Ages Sonic the Hedgehog was developed by M2, a Japanese video game developer best known for porting classic Sega titles to modern consoles, including the 3D Classics titles on the Nintendo 3DS, and the Sega Vintage Collection releases on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The Sega Ages release adds the Spin Dash from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Drop Dash from Sonic Mania, and the challenging Mega Play mode, which limits the player to three lives and removes the ability to earn extra lives.
Mega Play mode was previously only available in the Sonic the Hedgehog release for Sega's Mega Play arcade board based on the Mega Drive (Genesis) hardware, which was never released in North America.
Sega Ages Sonic the Hedgehog was generally well received by critics, with a meta score of 77 on Metacritic.
The game released just 78 days before Sega Genesis Classics for the Switch, which caused some critics and players to question the value of the Sega Ages release, however the prominent issues with input lag in Sega Genesis Classics make Sega Ages Sonic the Hedgehog the best way to play Sonic the Hedgehog on the Nintendo Switch.
